Ron Gordon – Being ready for action

We just missed the Cuba crisis. That must have been really tense onboard because things build up. You get a signal every week come in to fire your weapons and if the Captain and the First Lieutenant decipher it and then they say the say it’s a weapon system readiness test, so it’s just a test.

That can come in at any time, so they’re just checking how the crew react. It can be the middle of night, it can be at breakfast, it can be middle of the day. It just comes in at any time.

Simon: And you’ve got no idea if it’s real or not until …

Until they tell you. You’re sent to Action Stations and then they say weapon system readiness test and then you go through the motions of firing the weapons.

There’s a simulation system that you go through. You’re at a certain depth.